Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) Compare and contrast with Alzheimer disease • Most common cause of dementia by far ‐70% • More common with advancing age ≥ 65 YO 7 % ≥ 85 YO 30‐47 % • Insidious onset, slowly progressive course • Earliest manifestation usually STM (short term memory loss) • Other early cognitive deficits – Executive function (abstract thinking, planning, organizing) – Language ( forget words, verbal expression, comprehension of reading) • Middle‐to‐late stage manifestations – Gait instability / falls – Incontinence – BPSD ( Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia ) – Personality changes – At best, modest / temporary improvement with CEI ( cholinesterase inhibitors ) FTD • Pathologically / clinically heterogeneous disorder with focal degeneration of frontal and/or temporal lobes • Onset typically late 50’s‐ early 60’s; mean age 58 – Onset 20‐80; unusual 40 or 75 • Earliest manifestations – Personality changes / social behavior changes (behavior variant) – Language deficits • Slowly progressive to more global dementia • Some with extrapyramidal or motor symptoms • 1/3 with FH • Pick disease behavioral variant with Pick bodies ( intracellular inclusions) • Other terms – Frontal lobe dementia – Frontal lobe degeneration – Frontotemporal lobar degeneration – Pick complex FTD Subtypes • Behavioral variant ( BV ) • Progressive Nonfluent Aphasia ( PNFA ) • Semantic Dementia ( SD ) progressive fluent aphasia • Motor Syndromes ‐ Motor Neuron Disease ( MND ) ‐ Corticobasilar Degeneration ( CBD ) ‐ Progressive Supranuclear Palsy ( PSP ) Clinical manifestations: • Progressive in personality / social behavior OR • Progressive aphasia • Ultimately a global dementia • More rapid progression than AD; shorter with motor neuron variant – Four‐ eight years Behavioral Variant • Most common presentation of FTD • Personality – Apathy withdrawal; spontaneity; abulia – Social disinhibition / impulsivity / sentimentality / violent aggression • Lack insight – All by two years – Lack of concern • Loss of social awareness – Offensive remarks; inappropriate behavior – Hygiene; inappropriate elimination – Antisocial acts; criminal acts – Inappropriate sexual comments; libido • Stereotypical or ritual behaviors ‐ Same foods ‐ Counting ‐ Catch‐phrase ‐ Pacing ‐ Hoarding • Eating pattern ’s ‐ overeat; binge ‐ ETOH ‐ Hyperorality • Emotional blunting / loss of empathy ‐ Self‐ centered ‐ Difficulty recognizing others’ emotional expression • Mental rigidity – Inflexible routines – Inability to adapt to new situations – Inability to see others’ point of view • Deficits modulating attention – Distractibility – Perseverative behavior – Utilization behavior • Collateral history is imperative • Cognitive function relatively intact early (MMSE) – With progression impaired executive function, problem‐solving, attention – Memory and visuospatial skills less severe • Subtype with impaired executive function and subtle behavioral ’s initially • Altered speech – Aspontaneity ‐ echolalia – Paucity of speech ‐perseveration – ’d, often pressured, speech – Stereotypy ‐mutism • Progressive Nonfluent Aphasia • Anomia is initial manifestation ‐ Word‐finding; object naming • Progressively dysfluent speech ‐ simplification; circumlocution; phonemic paraphasia • Ultimately, difficulty with comprehension; may become mute • Restricted to expressive language for few‐ several; years global dementia later • Some develop behavioral manifestations or motor neuron disease • MRI –left perisylvian atrophy Semantic Dementia (temporal variant) • Initially a progressive speech disturbance – Impaired comprehension; anomia; semantic parapahasias – Normal fluency effortless speech lacking meaning & information – Normal repetition • Incomplete awareness, particularly impaired comprehension • Dyslexia / dysgraphia • Read and write phonetically • Verbal fluency tests – category fluency letter fluency • MRI‐ temporal atrophy, L R; more anteriorly than AD • Visual object recognition impairment affects long‐term memory • Episodic memory ( autobiographical ) is relatively preserved • Less commonly R temporal lobe deficits – recognizing faces / voices • Behavioral problems usually within few years Motor Syndromes ‐ Motor Neuron Disease ( MND ) ‐ Corticobasal Degeneration ( CBD ) ‐ Progressive Supranuclear Palsy ( PSP ) Motor Neuron disease (MND) • Precede or follow dementia, usually behavioral variant • 50 % with MND have / develop dementia • Progressive atrophy / flaccidity / fasciculation's of predominantly bulbar muscles and UE’s • UMN signs less prominent • Clinical features of both FTD‐MND usually within two years • Course more rapidly progressive • MRI‐ bifrontal atrophy Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) • Asymmetric rigidity / apraxia • Alien limb syndrome • Dystonia • Impaired joint position, 2‐point discrimination, agraphesthesia • Mirror movements • Gait impairment and supranuclear gaze palsy spread to other side • Cognitive impairment develops in most • MRI‐ asymmetric atrophy of frontoparietal, basal ganglia and/or cerebral peduncles Progressive Supranuclear Palsy ( PSP ) • Supranuclear vertical gaze palsy • Axial dystonia • Bradykinesia • Rigidity • Falls • Most with dementia and overlap with behavioral variant FTD • MRI‐ symmetric atrophy of superior cerebellar peduncle and midbrain Differential Dx • Of BV –FTD – Psychiatric disorder bipolar; OCD; depression • Major psychoses uncommon in BV‐FTD ( delusions, hallucinations ) – AD • Younger onset; prominent behavioral sxs without significant amnesia – DLBD • Early visual hallucinations – Structural frontal lobe disease MRI • CVA, tumor , abscess BV‐FTD ( 99% sensitive / 80‐85% specific ) • Abnormal social conduct • Eating disorders • Stereotyped behavior • Apathy • Absent memory / visuospatial deficits Differential Dx of progressive aphasia • Most with progressive aphasia consistent with PNFA or SD have FTD at autopsy • AD 1/3 of PNFA or SD had AD • VD • Primary brain tumor MRI • DLBD ~ 15 % with progressive aphasia have DLBD • Neuropsychological testing for diagnosis is limited • FTD AD – performance on executive function and social cognition – performance on memory and visuospatial function Treatment of FTD • No FDA‐ approved tx • Neurochemical basis for FTD is unknown • Abnormalities in serotonin and dopamine – not cholinergic • SSRI’s – disinhibition; impulsivity; repetitive behavior; eating disorders; sexual disinhibition • Trazodone – agitation; aggression; depression; eating disorder Treatment of FTD • Atypical antipsychotics ( olanzapine, quetiapine, aripiprazole ) – agitation – particularly vulnerable to EPS; use as last resort – quetiapine with less D2 antagonism • Stimulants ( Methylphenidate, dextroamphetamine ) – DA & NE – apathy; disinhibition – may cause delirium .